Tuesday, March 7, 2017

The Kitchen Remodeling Process

A common question customers will ask is what is the typical process of remodeling a kitchen?  How do we get all the parts and pieces put together?  Well this blog post answers that question.

Every kitchen project can be a little different when figuring out the best process of getting things picked out and completed.  Based on the list of items below, I will offer a suggested way to tackle the project most efficiently. Some of the items on the project list may not apply to your project.

Project List:
Kitchen Cabinets
Granite Countertop
New Hardwood Floor
New Appliances
Electrical Services — ceiling and/or pendant fixtures, under cabinet lighting, code updates
Move Forced Hot Water Heat
Knobs and Pulls
Plumbing Fixtures — sink and faucet
Plumbing Services — sink, dishwasher install, code updates
Subway Tile Backsplash

Measuring Your Kitchen

When making the decision to renovate your kitchen, one of the first steps in getting that started is to invite a kitchen designer to your home.  To do a good job, it is important for the kitchen designer to see how things are laid out in the existing kitchen and rooms adjacent.

During the site visit, an experienced kitchen designer will offer suggestions and comment on the freezability of any project wants the homeowner has. Then of course carefully measure the kitchen space.  The kitchen designer will then use those measurements to create a floor plan of your kitchen.

During the initial job site visit, homeowners will likely have questions and have ideas in their mind to improve the kitchen space. The best question a homeowner can ask the experienced kitchen designer is: “What would you do to make this kitchen space better?” Good kitchen designers are familiar with kitchen design guidelines and will keep those in mind when making suggestions. For example, space needed around an island.

When the Kitchen Gallery makes a job site visit, we take a lot of notes as to what a customer’s wish list might be. So customers should try to think about what they don’t like about their current setup. If you have a wild idea, this is a good time to throw it out there.

Every homeowner will have a budget limit for a kitchen remodeling project, however don’t be too worried about that yet. If you have looked through magazines or seen pictures on the internet that you like, share this with your kitchen designer. We can often design something that can be cost effective. The goal would be to get as much of your wish list in the renovation as possible without breaking the bank. A good place to look for kitchen design ideas is HOUZZ.

So the initial job site visit takes about 45 minutes. The second visit is at the kitchen designer’s office or showroom. During that visit we work on placing various cabinets in logical places on a floor plan around the wanted appliances. If you can share with your designer the appliances you are thinking about purchasing, this is a good time to do it. An appliance store should be able to provide a specification sheet on each appliance with measurements.

Selecting Appliances

Below is an appliance buying checklist. Some you might want, some you might not. There are many appliance options. To make the selection process easier, we advise customers to use the internet to filter down their choices. One site that is good at doing this is AJMADISION.COM, check them out. Then call up a local appliance store like State Street Discount or Appliance Warehouse and see if they have the item in their store.

Appliance Check List:
Range (gas, electric, induction)
Cooktops
Wall Ovens
Range Vent Hoods — available at the Kitchen Gallery
Ovens separate from range
Microwave (over the range or somewhere else)
Warming Drawer
Dishwasher
Garbage Disposal
Refrigerator
Beverage Refrigerator

Kitchen Designing

In a few days the Kitchen Gallery will contact you (often by e-mail) to set up a time to meet in the Kitchen Gallery showroom/office in North Hampton. At minimum, we will have the walls drawn in our kitchen design computer software and appliances placed on the floor plan. Sometimes we have worked on a few design options that we can present to you right away. Often it makes more sense to create the kitchen design on the fly in front of you so we can ask you questions as each cabinet is placed.

With your help and feedback, in about 30 to 45 minutes time on average the Kitchen Gallery will have a design concept that you will like. Then we start to look at selecting a cabinet manufacturer, door style, color cabinet and species wood. After these decisions are made, it is often practical to work up a rough estimate of what your kitchen renovation will cost. Folks are usually anxious to get a financial understanding of the project, so the Kitchen Gallery tries to accommodate that.

If more design work is needed to get the floor plan and cabinet materials just right, the Kitchen Gallery will follow up with a design video for your review.  After you like what is in the design video, then the Kitchen Gallery will create a formal estimate.  An example of what we mean be a design video can be seen by CLICKING HERE.  The design video goes through each cabinet detail so you know what is included in the kitchen design and your estimate.  Kitchen and bath design explanation videos is an excellent way to communicate the details in a project.

 



from http://nhkitchens.com/the-kitchen-remodeling-process/

Thursday, February 9, 2017

Countertop Layout

After a countertop template is complete, the Kitchen Gallery can request a “countertop layout” where you see photographs of the countertop you selected in various positions. An example of a countertop layout is show below. If my countertop fabricator sees more than one layout option, then you can see it.

CLICK HERE to see an example of a countertop layout.



from http://nhkitchens.com/countertop-layout/

Crown Install Options

Often customers like the idea of installing wall cabinets, then crown molding that touches the ceiling.  CLICK HERE for an example photo of this.

In most cases, fascia material is necessary.  CLICK HERE to see what fascia material is.  The fascia material is secured with screws or finish bards to the top of the wall cabinets.  Then crown molding is brad nailed to the fascia.

See post on “ceilings that are not level and crown molding”.

There are two common ways to install fascia with crown.  One I call “lap fascia”…  Were the fascia is installed on the side of a wall cabinet face frame.  CLICK HERE to learn what is meant by a face frame.  CLICK HERE for another post regarding face frame vs. frame-less cabinetry.  The second option is what I call a “flush fascia”…  Were the fascia sits on top of a wall cabinet face frame.

Check out the images below.  The “lap fascia” option takes more time to install.  For the average kitchen install there is about a $300 to $400 up-charge for doing a “lap fascia” installation.  The differences are subtle.  CLICK HERE to watch a video of a kitchen that has a “flush fascia”.  CLICK HERE to watch a video of a kitchen that has a “lap fascia”.  Let your kitchen design know what you like.



from http://nhkitchens.com/crown-install-options/

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Corner Cabinet Hinge Operation

Sometimes… Not often the hinge(s) might disengage in your corner base cabinet. Below is a video on how to put the hinges back in place.

The post Corner Cabinet Hinge Operation appeared first on Kitchen Gallery -- cabinets, countertops, design and installation.



from http://nhkitchens.com/corner-cabinet-hinge-operation/

Monday, January 2, 2017

Exeter New Hampshire Kitchen Upgrade — Ramit

January 1, 2017 — below is a video showing the details of the cabinets… Let me know if you like what you see.
CLICK HERE if you would like to see what the Norcraft Cabinet construction looks like.

The post Exeter New Hampshire Kitchen Upgrade — Ramit appeared first on Kitchen Gallery -- cabinets, countertops, design and installation.



from http://nhkitchens.com/exeter-new-hampshire-kitchen-upgrade-ramit/

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Selecting Granite Countertops

The Kitchen Gallery has a lot of granite samples for you to look at…  These samples vary in size from 3 x 3 inches to 10 x 10 inches.  However, looking at these small samples is not the best way to select your granite countertop.  Granite can be very unique from one slab to the other.  So it would be best to select your granite slab(s) from a distributor, where you can see the full slab of granite.

One granite distributor Kitchen Gallery often suggests is Boston Granite Exchange in Haverhill, Massachusetts.  They are one of the largest distributors and most conveniently located.  They unusually have around 300 different granite and marble options to choose from.  Boston Granite Exchange also distributes quartz countertops.  They carry a brand called Cambria, made in the USA.  The advantage to using quartz which is man made, is it doesn’t need to be sealed like granite.  CLICK HERE to learn about sealing countertops.

A granite distributor only sells granite, marble or quartz.  They don’t cut the granite before it goes in your home.  A granite fabricator will template, cut and install your granite in your home.  Granite fabricators will purchase the granite from a granite distributor like Boston Granite Exchange.

When choosing your stone, it is important to understand how much square footage you have for countertop and backsplash (if wanted).  Most slabs of stone will yield about 45 square feet.  So if you have 80 square feet of countertop and/or backsplash…  Then you will need 2 slabs of material for your job.  For your particular job, ask the Kitchen Gallery how many square feet you need before making the trip to Boston Granite Exchange.

Also, when you select a slab, if you need more than one slab…  Make sure they are coming from the same lot number.  Stone distributors will show lot numbers on the side of the stone.  One lot of stone can be very different from another lot of stone.

Also, before making the trip to a distributor, it would be a good idea to have some information about pricing your countertop job.  The Kitchen Gallery should give you some pricing information with “GROUP A”, “GROUP B”, and “GROUP C” pricing…  So you have a feel as to how much things cost.  Distributors will try to color code the stone slabs.  The price of the stone is base on supply and demand or how rare the stone is.  It is not so often price on the quality of the stone.  If you select from Boston Granite Exchange, you will more than likely get a good quality material for your kitchen.

When you walk into Boston Granite Exchange, reception will likely greet you and ask who your fabricator is…  You can say that you are working with the Kitchen Gallery.  They will want to know that so they can put it on their tagging paperwork.

If you like one or more slabs of granite.  “Tag” them…  When you “tag” material it is held for 7 days.  Long enough for the Kitchen Gallery to update pricing for that specific slab(s) of granite and your project.  In the case of Boston Granite Exchange, they will give you “hold” paperwork when you tag material, this paperwork will have the information needed on it for the Kitchen Gallery to update pricing.

Hopefully, the above post has given you a better understanding on the granite selection process.  If the Kitchen Gallery can further clarify, please let us know.

The post Selecting Granite Countertops appeared first on Kitchen Gallery -- cabinets, countertops, design and installation.



from http://nhkitchens.com/selecting-granite-countertops/

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Georgetown Massachusetts — Ashley and Andre

Made a video of the kitchen design
There are probably a few more measurements that need adjusting

The post Georgetown Massachusetts — Ashley and Andre appeared first on Kitchen Gallery -- cabinets, countertops, design and installation.



from http://nhkitchens.com/georgetown-massachusetts-ashley-andre/